After a critically acclaimed season at Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre, master storyteller Alirio Zavarce’s award winning one-man play The Book of Loco will return to Adelaide in August for a limited season of just six performances, presented by Windmill Theatre especially for teenagers and their families.
Written by and starring renowned Venezuelan-Australian writer, actor and director Zavarce, The Book of Loco is a spellbinding, semi-autobiographical one-hander that proves that sometimes you have to go mad in order to stay sane.
Set against the backdrop of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, the play chronicles in side-splitting, heartbreaking detail Zavarce’s real life descent into madness; from his troubled migrant past, to the breakdown of a relationship, to the agonising death of a parent.
The Book of Loco premiered to great critical acclaim at the Adelaide Fringe in 2013, winning the Fringe Festival Award for Best Theatre Production, followed by a hugely popular 2014 season at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne.
While the play wasn’t originally intended for teenage audiences, Zavarce says it contains some important messages for them.
“Most of the teenage audiences who’ll be attending this time around weren’t even born when the September 11 attacks happened in 2001, which is quite extraordinary to think about,” he says.
“But I think it’s through those big events in history we can learn how to cope with our own problems on an individual level, and that’s one of the many themes the play explores.”
The Book of Loco is directed by renowned Adelaide theatre producer Sasha Zahra and designed by Jonathon Oxlade, featuring video and animations by acclaimed multimedia artist Chris More, sound design by Duncan Campbell, original lighting design by David Gadsen and lighting realisation by Chris Petridis.
Incisive, intelligent, heartbreakingly poignant and darkly funny, The Book of Loco is deeply immersive theatre at its beautiful, uproarious and unsettling best.
The Book of Loco is presented by Windmill Theatre and Adelaide Festival Centre and runs for a limited season at The Space Theatre from August 14 to 22, with tickets starting from just $25.50.
Book at BASS.net.au or call 131 246.
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